How The World Cup Stadiums Are Cooled by Solar Energy
Nov 29, 2022 7:01 am
How The Qatar World Cup Stadiums Are Cooled by Solar Energy
1 min read
Saud Ghani, a mechanical engineering professor at Qatar University, has earned the nickname ‘Doctor Cool’ for his leading role in developing a solar powered air conditioning system that keeps cold air inside the Qatar World Cup stadiums.
The technology works as follows:
- Cool air enters through thousands of grills under seats in the stands and large pitch side nozzles.
- The air is then recollected, re-cooled, filtered and pumped back out.
Although the average temperature in Qatar during the world cup ranges from 21-26ᵒC, it could feel hotter inside the 40 000 – 80 000-seater stadiums with fans giving off heat through jumping, clapping, singing, etc. “So I have 40 000 people in there and (under) the same roof, cheering, jumping, enjoying the game.” Explained Ghani. “And each one of us, by the way, that we are giving a lot of heat, roughly about two laptops of heat. So I cannot put 40 000 people, roughly 80 000 laptops, in a space for four hours without giving them a sort of ventilation.”
These systems are fuelled by the Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant which launched in October 2022 and is estimated to produce nearly 2 000 000 MWh in its first 12 months, enough to power 55 000 Qatari homes, according to Total Energies, who is part of the Siraj 1 SPV joint venture which owns the plant.
The ventilation cooling will only occur where fans are situated. Ghani tested the technology using 3D printed models and wind tunnels at Qatar University.
What do you think of stadium cooling? Do you think that this technology can be useful in other situations? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!
For more information on solar air-conditioned stadiums, or any other energy related articles, view the blog posts on my website and be sure to open my weekly emails every Tuesday at 9am CAT.
Get your load shedding schedules here: Municipal Loadshedding schedules - Distribution (eskom.co.za)
Latest fuel prices: Fuel Pricing - AA
EVs among least reliable in consumer survey
